Samples Of Art Samples of art created by Wiscasset High School students line the wall next to the library.

So what's art all about - just a fun course? A frill? Look into arts education for more than a few seconds and the value of art education has become increasingly important for success in later life, out in the real world.

This is the message that art teachers Tom Block and Sarah Sutter brought to Wiscasset School Committee members last week.

"Creative approaches can no longer be seen as a frill; the arts provide a solid foundation for student success in areas of technology," Block said in prepared remarks before the school committee.

"The arts provide a solid foundation for student success in life beyond WHS," he continued. "The arts embrace play as the essential element of the creative process. Play leads to experimentation. Experimentation leads to discovery, and discovery is what moves mankind forward."

Teaching the arts teaches "habits of mind that last a lifetime," Sutter's Power Point presentation to the school committee said. Those habits include "critical analysis skills, the ability to deal with ambiguity and to solve problems, perseverance and a drive for excellence."

According to a 2004 Harvard Business Review article referenced in the presentation, the MFA, or Masters of Fine Arts, is the new MBA (Masters in Business Administration).

"An arts degree is now perhaps the hottest credential in the world of business. Corporate recruiters have begun visiting the top arts grad schools in search of talent. The broadened approach has often come at the expense of more traditional business graduates. The reason - creativity is now seen as a bigger determinant of success than business logic."

Writing in his book, "A Whole New Mind," Daniel Pink is quoted in the presentation in reference to how the new chairman of General Motors North America planned to approach his job, and whether that would differ from his predecessor's. He reportedly told a journalist, "It's more right brain… I see us as being in the art business. Art, entertainment, and mobile sculpture, which coincidentally, also happens to provide transportation."

"All aspects of art education in some fashion can be useful in a business setting," Pink says. "Studio work gives all of us a taste of the joys and challenges of creation, while the critique method can begin to deepen an artistic sensibility and develop the aesthetic literacy that's necessary for business today."

In another section of the presentation focusing on economics, the poor starving artist stereotype seems to be on the decline: "Data show that people who work in creative occupations earn an average of $20,000 a year more than those in non-creative jobs. And, over the next decade, the U.S. is projected to add 10 million more creative sector jobs, according to the newest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Arts music, culture and entertainment will contribute some 400,000 new jobs - twice as many as engineering."

And, turning to jobs in Maine, those labeled "creative workers" earn, on average, over $48,000 a year, about 33 percent more than the Maine average salary of $32,000 a year. Maine's creative workforce is also growing faster than the state's overall workforce, according to the presentation. From 2000 to 2001, the state's creative workforce grew by nine percent, compared to a seven percent growth rate overall, adding over 5,000 jobs to the Maine economy.

From 2001 to 2005, the average wage in Maine's arts and cultural industries grew by 11 percent, from $33,521 to $37,779, compared to a six percent increase in the state's overall average wage. By 2010 this differential is projected to be 18 percent.

Block talked about a number of letters that former students have written to the Wiscasset School Committee, apparently at the suggestion of teachers in the department.

"These letters speak for themselves," Block said, "not with sentimental pleas to maintain fine arts programming but in sincere articulate descriptions of how the arts are being used and pursued by former students. They represent a cross section of the student body over the last 15 years. They are the voices of students, from those earning close to six figures in the arts to a special education student who works at Hannaford."

One of these letters was from former student Gustav Moore, a member of the1990 graduating class who said he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Rochester Institute in 1995, and now has his own freelance illustration business. He has illustrated eight children's books, contributed to a number of magazines and at one point worked for L.L. Bean creating catalogues.

"Through high school art, I developed my self-esteem, built up a strong work ethic, and gained a new motivation to achieve," Moore wrote.

"The art department provided a place for me to fit in. My strength wasn't in sports, academic achievement or extracurricular activities, but I found great rewards and satisfaction in art classes. It was because of art classes in high school that I was motivated to work hard and get into college. The character I developed and what I learned from Dave Chase in the art department gave me a strong advantage in college."

"I write to you today to urge you to continue to give these same opportunities to other young students."

Zane Fairservice , a member of the class of 1999, wrote, "My artistic experience has served me well as a worker in the `real world.' A few years ago I accepted a job as a screen printer, and because of the classes I took both in high school and college, I prospered. I was promoted quickly and began earning higher wages because of my talent. Even now, I have taken up printing as a hobby and hope to soon start my own business selling apparel with my original designs printed on them. Not only that, but I'm currently employed at Georgetown Pottery, known for its high quality porcelain ceramics. I'm not much more than a general laborer there, but a product I designed is now sold as a GP original (it's their sugar jar - check it out sometime!).

"I continue to live and work as an artist here in Maine, because I feel a connection with this place, the people and the experience I've had here. I still remember how much I learned during my time in the Wiscasset School System and how much fun I had… Jackie Curley in primary school and Donna Barnes in middle school were fantastic teachers who provided structure and guidance but allowed plenty of creative freedom. High school was probably the most significant time in my life as an artist. It was there, under the guidance of Tom Block and Sarah Sutter, that I matured by being allowed to experiment with a multitude of art materials."

Another graduate, from the class of 2001, Austin Bonang , graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Savannah College of Art and Design.

Bonang wrote in his letter that he was accepted to the college with a $10,000 scholarship, "based on my portfolio, which I built up at Wiscasset High School with the help of Mr. Block and Sarah Sutter."

He is now working in Los Angeles, where he was worked on several films in a variety of capacities.

"Now I am a 25 year old, successful, professional artist earning around $90,000 annually. If it wasn't for the fantastic art program at Wiscasset High School, I'm not sure where I would have ended up."

"Students should not have to suffer through an artistically scarce high school experience," Bonang wrote. "Further cut-backs in funding for art class would be a major mistake as well as a step backwards in the ever- changing society that we live in. Creative jobs are ever growing, I see them every day, not just in art but in advertising, sales and business. Please reconsider the art program cuts pending in the current school budget proposal."

He ends his letter with a quote from George Bernard Shaw: "Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable."

Another letter writer, E. Adam Attia, from Brooklyn, N.Y., wrote, "It has recently come to my attention that a great injustice is once again showing its cruel face in my hometown of Wiscasset."

"In my days in Wiscasset, I grew up in a post-Maine Yankee world; on more than one occasion I witnessed the powers that be allowing the education of future generations to take a back seat to the superfluous updating of fire-fighting and law enforcement technologies. I personally believe that it is a travesty to deprive the students of Wiscasset High School of the right to a well-rounded education in the arts.

"My extensive repertoire of art classes in high school gave me the ability to think outside the box in a manner that cannot be learned in standard academia. The critical thinking skills and analytical abilities I gained have set me above the bar amongst my peers in the professional world. In the military these skills proved valuable to my fellow soldiers and to the job at hand" (he notes that he was in the armed forces for three years, deployed twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom).

"In my days since high school I have kept in touch with many of my friends. These students were exemplary stars of the standardized academic system valued so dearly in our culture. Since graduation many of these individuals have gone on to dead-end jobs, barely providing them with the means to live a comfortable life and lacking the sense of fulfillment that we all desire. I have been fortunate to have an education in the arts because it has allowed me to live a life filled with enriching experiences."

Attia is now studying photography at the School of Visual Arts, where he says he has been on the Dean's List for the past two years, and last year was an assistant to Vincent Dixon, "one of the foremost advertisement photographers in New York City."

Other letters were sent by Letitia Munson, class of 2006; Laura Whitney, class of 2003; Mike McIntire, class of 1997; Kevin Jewett, class of 2003; Jamie Messier, class of 2003; Raymond Lemar; Natalie Clay, class of 2004; Amanda Stover, class of 2003; Eric Bleile, class of 1995; Sean Closson, class of 2001; Phoebe Robinson, class of 1997, Ted Closson, class of 1993; and a number of e-mails were sent which did not include complete names.